Fun, Fun, Fun

 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. (I Timothy 6:17)

 

          At least in the New International Version, there is no Bible verse that includes the word fun. Unfortunately, that’s the word I encountered yesterday, and the word that is on my mind to discuss. The closest I can come is “enjoyment.” The person who mentioned it asked something about what the best fun was. And as happens fairly frequently, I began my answer with “It depends on how you define…”

          I explained that I had spent vacations for two decades wandering through cemeteries, taking pictures of tombstones, and sitting in libraries looking for obituaries on microfilm. When at home, I’d spend several hours each week on Ancestry.com. That was fun. Stop that! I saw your eyes roll and that smirk.

          Over the past couple summers, I have enjoyed emptying boxes at a food pantry. Who cares about the people? Let someone else talk to them. But let me put out so much food that I empty and flatten boxes. That is fun. Or, let me go load containers with compost and dump them in someone’s garden. Or, let me pick up newspapers and put them on steps. Or let me write a book. Or let me weed someone else’s garden. I must admit, weeding my own isn’t as much fun. That’s work. Oh, and speaking of fun, how much fun is the realization that the right meal for “hump day” is Hot Dog!?

          I know. I’m crazy. I find fun - enjoyment - in strange places. But let me ask you which is more fun. Watching a movie you enjoy, or introducing someone to the movie who enjoys it as much as you do? If our enjoyment didn’t involve moving beyond ourselves in some way, social media probably wouldn’t exist. At the very least, there would be no share button.

          Now, you might not be the same way. I seem to enjoy serving. I enjoy doing for or with others. You might get your enjoyment out of giving things to people, or spending time with them, or finding ways to encourage them. I don’t know. I could be wrong, but I find myself thinking that our enjoyment tends to involve connecting with other people in some way. I don’t want to interact with people – but I want to do something that is useful to them.

     Abraham Maslow developed a theory that the last, but ultimately most important need a person has is “self-fulfillment.” One way of thinking of self-fulfillment is that we finally realize our godhood because everything is just the way we want it and can therefore enjoy ourselves. I submit that this is the lowest form of self-fulfillment. Better forms benefit more than just ourselves, and the best form would be the one that brings God joy, because that will be the one that best benefits the most, or the most needy.

      I have to add a postscript to this post because as I took Grace for a walk past the places I worked this morning, I kept thinking, "Oh, that looks so much better!" Our enjoyment comes not only in the doing, but in the fact that it is done, and it is "good."